BUSM4591 - Assessment 3: Scenario-based Problems Employment Law Issues

Overview

For this assessment you will take on the role of an ‘Employment Relations Advisor’ at a hypothetical
organisation (please refer to the assessment brief for further information). As part of this role, you are
required to create a memorandum of advice for management based on three employee cases that you
are managing. A memorandum is similar to a letter, but it is presented in a certain format (please refer
to the suggested template provided).
The purpose of this assessment is to demonstrate your understanding of all topics covered in the course
in the context of a real-world hypothetical scenario where you are managing sensitive employment
relations matters that may result in internal grievance mechanisms arising, or external applications being
made to the Fair Work Commission.
This scenario-based memorandum of advice will assist you to develop skills in relation to conducting
research for current workplace issues setting out a clear understanding of the facts of the situation, the
applicable law and the likely outcomes for the employee and organisation.

Assessment criteria

This assessment will measure your ability to:
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the issues from the organisation (10 marks)
• communicate a quality argument and reasoning underpinning your review and analysis (20 marks
• organise the assessment logically, including structure, headings and conclusion, and apply the
correct use of language and citation (10 marks).

Assessment

You are employed as an Employment Relations Advisor in Victoria, who manages cases for “Fresh and
Fabulous Ltd (F&F).” F&F operates 100 grocery retail outlets across Australia in all states, and employs
thousands of staff, including fixed and ongoing part-time and full time staff. Their workforce is supported
with a large contingent of flexible casual staff. All outlets operate as part grocery and fresh food, and part
retail stores selling clothing and homewares. There are dedicated liquor sections, and facilities for dine in
and takeaway food. The headquarters of F&F are based in Victoria, which is where you are based which
employs 235 FTE staff. Each of the store locations have onsite administrative support staff which provide
‘shared resources’ for all stores to manage functions such as rostering, logistics, OHS and promotions.

Most of the retail employees of F&F are covered by the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (the Award),
which is accessible on the Fair Work Website. Your manager, Alex Chan, has asked you to prepare a
written summary of advice for three new cases which have been assigned to you.
Alex has asked that you present the information in the form of a written memorandum of advice, addressed
to Alex (her/him), which contains a clear legal assessment of the issues for each case, and sound
recommendations for how each matter should be handled. Alex is keen to understand any potential risks
and liabilities which the business may be exposed to

Case studies

Case 1: Andy Matheson and Rex Tilly

Andy has been a Depot Supervisor for 10 years at the Livingstone branch in Victoria and employed
by F&F for 19 years overall. He leads a team of 10 that performs a range of tasks, including
receiving and checking consignments, driving forklifts, overseeing logistics to the relevant stores in
their jurisdiction and generally ensuring a safe working environment. Andy knows his job well, but
Rex the Store Manager has noted he takes longer than allowed for breaks, leaves right on shift
time, and tends to avoid physically harder aspects of his role, leaving them for others in his team.
A consultancy review of operations found the warehouse is inefficient and should introduce
mechanised processes to increase speed and reduce risks of injury to staff. Rex is required to make
savings, which equate to 10 per cent staff cutbacks. Rex calls a team meeting, explaining that cost
savings must be made, or that one position will go. Rex provided a consultation period of two
weeks. During this period, he met with each team member to discuss the processes in their role,
ask for ideas, and assess their performance. These assessments were benchmarked with Andy.
A fortnight later, Rex informed Andy that he will be made redundant, as it has been determined that
the role of ‘Supervisor’ is no longer required. This position will be absorbed into the role of the Store
Manager. Rex explains that Andy can be either redeployed within the business if a suitable
opportunity arises, or he can take the package. You have become aware that Andy is in discussions
with the union over concerns he has with this process.

Case 2: Ria Patel and Mario Callea

Ria is proud to be appointed as a mature-aged apprentice in the Livingstone location, working in the
bakery that services the store. She works with a team of two full time bakers (Riley and Daniel) and
a Head Baker, named Mario. Ria has been working for four months, but her performance,
punctuality and positive attitude has noticeably declined in the last two months. She has used all her
sick days, and now calls in sick about once a week.
Mario calls a performance review to share his concerns. In the meeting, Ria starts shaking and
bursts into tears. She sobs as she explains that she has tried her best to cope, but that she cannot
handle it anymore. She says she is constantly name-called with offensive and racist slurs. Riley and
Daniel call her ‘diarrhoea’, or ‘the Delta variant’ and sometimes say she smells like curry. She has
developed a complex about this and has started showering multiple times a day. She knows it is not
true, but she has been worn down. They have also made hurtful postings onto her personal
Facebook page.
Mario gives her the rest of the day off. He calls Daniel and Riley in for a meeting, who explain that it is
just harmless fun, that everybody shares in the good times and that as an apprentice this is part of the
job. They say that she accepted their Facebook ‘Friend’ requests months ago, and that she has not
unfriended them – they deny making any hurtful postings (although they do admit to not liking some of
her photos). They claim that the real reason for her fake allegation is that she is not very good at her
work, often can’t make it in for the 4 am starts, is unreliable and has often left her workstation at critical
times when fresh batches should be taken out of the ovens. They both say that she is not cut out to be a
baker. Mario contacts you for advice.

Case 3: Tina Finelli and Max Murphy

Tina has been working as an Industrial Officer in the ‘People First’ union for three years. She has
become aware of some safety concerns in some suburban depot locations. Each depot has a dedicated
union representative, who works for F&F, and is also a member of the union. The role of the union rep is
to act as a conduit between the union, management and workers, providing information about rights that
may come from provisions in modern awards, enterprise agreements or workplace policies.
Tina receives a call from Max O’Malley, a warehouse worker at the Livingstone location, who is
concerned about safety. New heavy lifting machinery has been introduced without any training sessions
being provided to staff. Max would ordinarily talk to Andy about this, but he has recently been made
redundant. Tina is concerned, as this sounds like a health and safety risk. She explains that she will visit
the store later that afternoon. Soon after she leaves a voice message with Rex, the Store Manager. Tina
arrives at 5 pm wearing a high-vis vest and hard hat. As she walks into the Warehouse, she is greeted
by Rex who informs her she is not allowed, nor authorised to be on site. Tina and Max have both
contacted you about this incident.

Resources

Template
A template for the memorandum of advice is available on the Assessment 3 page in Canvas.

Webinars

Participation and engagement in your weekly webinars will enable you to approach preparing your
memorandum of advice for this assessment.

Referencing guidelines
It is recommended for you to use the resources in Week 0, which explain how to correctly use the
Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC4) referencing style.
AGLC4 (footnotes) is the preferred citation method to be applied to this assessment. You also
have the choice of using RMIT Harvard referencing style (in-text citation) for this assessment.
You must acknowledge all the sources of information you have used in your assessments.
Refer to the RMIT Easy Cite referencing tool to see examples and tips on how to reference in the
appropriate style. You can also refer to the library referencing page for more tools such as
EndNote, referencing tutorials and referencing guides for printing.

Submission format

Use MS Word or a similar tool. The assessment will be submitted in Canvas as a file upload via
Turnitin.

Academic integrity and plagiarism

Academic integrity is about honest presentation of your academic work. It means acknowledging
the work of others while developing your own insights, knowledge and ideas.
You should take extreme care that you:
• acknowledge words, data, diagrams, models, frameworks and/or ideas of others you have
quoted (i.e. directly copied), summarised, paraphrased, discussed or mentioned in your
assessment through the appropriate referencing methods
• provide a reference list of the publication details so your reader can locate the source if
necessary (including material taken from internet sites).
If you do not acknowledge the sources of your material, you may be accused of plagiarism
because you have passed off the work and ideas of another person without appropriate
referencing, as if they were your own.
RMIT University treats plagiarism as a very serious offence constituting misconduct.
Plagiarism covers a variety of inappropriate behaviours, including:
• failure to properly document a source
• use of copyright material from the internet or databases
• collusion between students.
For further information on our policies and procedures, please refer to the University website.

Assessment declaration
When you submit work electronically, you agree to the assessment declaration.